


The Will of the Angels

by Goody



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec Whump, Alec didn't notice his rune coming back?, Angels, Episode: s02e20 Beside Still Water, Fix-It, Hell no, Hurt Alec, Immortal Husbands, It's a Malec story but the parabatai bond plays a big role, M/M, Malec, Now he did, Worried Magnus Bane, immortal!alec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-13 07:39:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18936412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goody/pseuds/Goody
Summary: Magnus blinked as more puzzle pieces fell into place.“The parabatai bond. You brought Jace’s soul back and Alec felt it.”OrThe one where Magnus talks to an Angel and gets more than he bargained for.





	The Will of the Angels

**Author's Note:**

> Set during 2x20 right as the Angel is called at Lake Lyn. So this fic is to fix two things. I won’t say the first thing as it ruins the surprise, but the second fix is oh man, you will never convince me that Alec didn’t notice his parabatai rune coming back after Jace was resurrected. He literally screamed when it went away! The other fix is Malec related. So enjoy this unconventional double fix fic.

Magnus had never been to Idris before. 

When one spends several hundred years actively distrusting almost all Shadowhunters, the Nephilim homeland doesn’t make it onto your list of vacation spots, especially considering he couldn’t even enter the city of Alicante a few miles away thanks to the demon towers there. 

But even though he had never been to Idris before Magnus felt fairly certain the sky wasn’t supposed to be glowing like that.

“We’re too late,” Izzy muttered as they all looked out at the golden horizon after stepping through Magnus’s portal to Lake Lyn. “He summoned the Angel.”

Magnus couldn’t dispute it and froze at the thought. If Valentine had truly summoned the Angel to make a wish they all knew there was only one thing he would ask for, one thing he wanted more than anything; the complete destruction of the downworld. If that was really what was happening then the next few moments could be the end of Magnus and all of his people across the entire planet.

Alec turned to him, a more targeted fear reflected in his eyes. He had just lost his parabatai, the pain of losing Jace had literally sent him to his knees only minutes ago, and now the sky was lit with the presence of an Angel who could wipe the man he loved out of existence right in front of him.

“Magnus, you … you have to go,” Alec said his voice stuttering with panic. “You have to hide you …”

Alec trailed off as though hearing the ridiculousness of his own words while Magnus stood rooted to the spot and shook his head.

Where could he hide from an Angel?

In response to the unspoken question Alec took his hand and squeezed it hard, as though daring the Angel to try and take Magnus away from him. Magnus looked down at their clasped fingers, remembering just a day ago when he had let those hands go and walked away. But he squeezed back now, held on tight and nodded. He met Alec’s eye. Words weren’t necessary.

They always found their way back to each other.

The light in the sky vanished. They all took a step back and held their breath. 

There was only silence.

“What happened?” Izzy asked.

The answer she got was Alec screaming.

“Ah!” he shouted breathlessly, his knees buckling.

“Alec!” Magnus yelled, reaching out but unable to catch him before he collapsed. He moved to touch him but was held back by Izzy.

“Magnus no!” she shouted.

It took him a moment to understand why she would hold him back from helping her brother but then he looked down at Alec. He was writhing on the ground, back arched in pain as he clutched at his side. 

And he was glowing.

His left side in particular was outlined in a golden light and Magnus had no doubt that it was coming from his parabatai rune somehow. That didn’t explain why the rest of his skin also had a light golden hue, but honestly he couldn’t really explain any of this at the moment.

“If that’s rune energy it could hurt you,” Izzy said, pushing Magnus behind her, protecting him for Alec. From Alec, for the moment. She knelt down beside her brother and took his hand. “Alec, what’s happening? What’s wrong?”

Alec struggled to take in a shaky breath, his eyes shot open and he looked into the sky, seemingly seeing nothing.

“Jace,” he gasped out. Then the light on his side faded and his eyes rolled back in his head.

“Alec!” Magnus pushed past Izzy, knelt on his other side and put a hand against his cheek. “Alexander? Alec, look at me! Come on.”

There was no response. 

Magnus could feel him breathing shallowly but other than that Alec offered no signs of life. Except that his skin was still glowing.

Izzy lifted up the edge of Alec’s shirt to reveal exactly what Magnus expected.

“His parabatai rune, it’s back,” Izzy said.

“Jace is alive,” Magnus muttered. “Maybe the presence of the Angel severed the connection somehow. The bond reconnecting must have overwhelmed him.”

Izzy shook her head. “Magnus I was at their rune ceremony when they became parabatai, it’s … it’s nothing like what just happened. They were both fine afterwards.”

“They prepare for the ceremony though.”

“A little yeah, but even if they didn’t there’s no rune that will knock a person unconscious just from applying it. Look at his skin. Something else is going on,” Izzy said, her worried gaze drifting towards Lake Lyn where they had been headed to help Jace and Clary stop Valentine.

“Maybe I can find out what it is,” Magnus said. His fingers hovered over Alec’s face and he released a few tendrils of magic to search for the problem but when his magic touched Alec’s skin it sizzled and snapped back towards him. Magnus hissed in surprise and pulled away sharply. It felt like being thrown off an electrified fence. “Then again, maybe I can’t.”

“What was that? Are you okay?” Izzy asked, having never seen Magnus’s magic react that way to anything.

“I’m not sure. It felt … angelic,” Magnus whispered. His gaze lifted from Alec’s too pale face towards the lake. “This is all connected somehow. We have to find out what’s happening down there.”

Isabelle nodded. “Clary and Jace might still need our help.”

“I’ll stay with him, you go. If they move close to the demon towers I can’t follow anyway,” Magnus said.

Isabelle hesitated, reluctant to leave her brother’s side.

“I’ll take care of him,” Magnus promised. “Finding out what’s happening down there might be our best chance of helping him.”

“I know,” she said. She kissed Alec’s forehead then stood up, her stance a warrior’s and her gaze focussed on the lake in the distance. “I’ll be back.”

“I know,” Magnus said, mirroring her words. She smiled in gratitude then took off at a run towards Lake Lyn leaving Magnus alone with his unconscious boyfriend.

He took Alec’s hand and wondered if he was even allowed to call him that anymore. 

“I’m here Alec. Please wake up,” Magnus said to him, uncaring that his voice cracked. “Please Alexander. We haven’t fixed this yet, fixed us, and I know we can. I know it. I never stopped believing in us, I just needed …”

Magnus took a breath. What had he needed? Space? Time? It didn’t matter. All he needed now was for Alec to wake up. 

But Magnus rarely got what he wanted.

Alec’s breath hitched in a tight gasp but his eyelids never flickered. Magnus laid a hand on his chest and felt his heart beating rapidly, far too fast for someone in a state of unconsciousness.

“What is happening?” Magnus muttered. His brow furrowed in concern as he looked Alec over; he was tense now even in unconsciousness and suddenly looking flushed. Magnus called forth his magic and tried again to probe Alec’s body but flinched away in pain as he was once again repelled. 

Then Alec’s skin began to glow brighter and he suddenly gasped for air, clearly struggling to breathe. 

“No! Alexander you keep breathing you hear me! You are not dying here. You can’t.”

Magnus didn’t know what to do as Alec took in another sad excuse for a breath. He cursed himself for sending Isabelle away; a healing rune may have been what he needed but there was no way for Magnus to apply one and his magic couldn’t penetrate whatever was happening to his shadowhunter forcing him to watch as Alec grew worse. 

A tear threatened to fall as he took Alec’s hand once more. “Stay with me Alec. Please.”

“A warlock begging for the life of a Nephilim.” 

Magnus’s head shot up, searching for the source of the voice and landed on a figure stalking out of the bushes behind him. 

“Miracles truly do happen,” the voice added, stoic and British. Then a man emerged from the darkness wearing a black robe that shimmered like starlight but gave off no glow. He wore no hood as he came out from the shadows but still Magnus couldn’t see his face.

“Who are you?” he asked, standing to put himself between Alec and the stranger, magic balls of fire forming on his fingertips.

“Friend and foe. It depends on who I’m speaking with,” the man said, never breaking stride as he came towards them, undeterred by Magnus’s threat of magic.

“What do you want?” Magnus demanded.

“That is not something that has ever mattered I’m afraid. What matters is what has been done.”

The stranger moved around Magnus and looked down at Alec who continued to struggle for breath.

“What are you talking about? Did you do this to Alec?”

“Yes,” the man said. It was a fact but still it held regret.

“Why?” Magnus asked, fire returning to his hands in anger.

“It was an unfortunate consequence to returning the life of Jace Herondale.”

Magnus’s eyes widened.

“Returning his life …?”

“Yes, he was killed at the hands of Valentine Morgenstern. Clarissa Fairchild called me and wished to bring him back to life.”

“Called you?” Magnus whispered, unsure what to do with the pieces that were forming together in his mind. Called forth. A wish. Lake Lyn. There was only one possibility. “You can’t be … the …”

Magnus couldn’t see it, but he sensed the man smiling.

“Who else could I be?”

Before Magnus could argue the absurdity of the notion that he was talking to an actual Angel, Alec inhaled sharply and his body shuddered once.

“Alexander!” Magnus dropped back to Alec’s side and touched his neck; his heart was beating even faster than before, his breath coming even shallower and his skin was burning to the touch, hotter than he’d ever felt in a mortal before. Whatever had happened was straining Alec’s body beyond what it could handle. Magnus looked up at the stranger, surprised to find he had moved silently to crouch on Alec’s other side.

“What’s wrong with him?”

Magnus wasn’t sure the creature before him had lungs but heard him sigh nonetheless.

“No mortal can survive the touch of an angel, not even a Nephilim. The power is too great. Jace Herondale was not alive when I returned his soul to this plane, but Alexander Lightwood was.”

Magnus blinked as more puzzle pieces fell into place.

“The parabatai bond. You brought Jace’s soul back and Alec felt it.”

“The bond is strong. It entangles those who submit themselves to it. When two souls are bonded in such a way you cannot touch one without the other.”

It made sense. It would take pure angelic energy to bring someone back to life, an energy too powerful for even Nephilim to touch. If Alec had been inundated with it through the bond when Jace was revived it would explain why he was glowing. And why Magnus’s demonic magic couldn’t penetrate his skin.

And why he was dying.

Magnus looked at the stranger and felt his anger rise the longer he sat and did nothing.

“Fix it then. Now!” he shouted, fire rimming around the edge of his glamour.

“The Wish has already been granted,” the man said. 

“I don’t give a damn about your wish or who you are. I care about you doing your damn job. You can’t trade Alec’s life for Jace’s! It’s not fair. It’s not what was wished for, now fix him,” Magnus’s voice cracked. Alec’s breathing was only a light rasp. His skin was burning. He was dying and Magnus couldn’t do anything to help him. He was the High Warlock of Brooklyn. A Prince of Edom but he couldn’t save the man he loved. A tear slipped down his cheek as he looked up at the Angel, begging. “Save him. Please. I’ll do anything.”

“Angels are not demons. We make no deals or bargains.”

Magnus could feel Alec’s skin getting hotter underneath his touch. He didn’t have much longer.

“Please, the world needs him. I need him.”

The Angel’s brow furrowed. “You love him.”

Magnus closed his eyes and nodded, more tears falling down his cheeks and onto Alec’s hand. “Yes.”

“If I knew nothing else that would be enough. But you are also right; this was not the intention of Clarissa Fairchild’s wish.”

Before Magnus could say anything the man extended his hand over Alec’s chest and the light of his black robes glowed brighter for a moment. Alec inhaled sharply at the movement but as he exhaled the golden glow disappeared from his skin along with the heated flush of a fever. His next breath came easily and his body relaxed against the ground.

“Alec?” Magnus questioned but made no move to touch him. If an Angel’s power could do this to a Nephilim he didn’t want to see what it would do to a downworlder.

“Worry not, Alexander Lightwood will not die today,” the man said. He started to pull back his hand then hesitated, head tilting to the side as he considered something deeply before he finally pulled away and stood up. “That I will not fix.”

Magnus’s relieved gaze shot up. “What are you talking about? You said you’d fix him.”

The man was walking away, melding back into the shadows. Magnus thought he heard the softest echo of a laugh. “Have a wonderful life together Magnus Bane.”

“Come back! Wait!” Magnus shouted. He started to chase after him but flinched when a sharp burst of light cut through the air ahead of him. When he blinked the spots away from his vision the forest was silent around him. Magnus didn’t bother going any further, he knew the man was gone.

“Magnus?”

Magnus spun around to a sight even more blinding than the flash of light. Alec was blinking himself awake and trying to sit up.

“Alec!” Magnus was by his side again in two strides, one hand taking Alec’s shoulder to steady him while the other cupped his cheek. His eyes scoured Alec’s face but he saw no sign of fever, his breathing was normal and his heart rate had slowed dramatically. “You’re okay.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. What …?”

Magnus was kissing him before he could finish his question, pouring his relief, fear, love and every other emotion swirling through him into the press of their lips. Alec was startled at first but recovered quickly and let his free hand cradle the back of Magnus’s head, holding him as close as possible and almost crying at the relief of finally kissing Magnus again.

They eventually pulled apart just far enough to breathe, their foreheads still touching as neither was willing to move away any further.

“I’m sorry,” Alec said breathlessly but Magnus shook his head. He didn’t give a damn about what they had been fighting about.

“Don’t. It doesn’t matter. Not right now,” Magnus said. His hands still clutched at Alec desperately as though they were unwilling to believe he was healthy and whole against him.

Alec left a hand in Magnus’s hair but pulled away to look at his face, frowning at the tear stains he saw on his cheek.

“Magnus, what happened? Why are you …”

“Alec!”

They both turned at the shout from the woods and Alec gasped when he recognized the voice.

“Jace?”

Magnus felt Alec shudder beneath him and helped his shadowhunter to his feet as the sound of pounding footsteps began to draw closer. A few moments later a figure shot out of the darkness, but this one at least Magnus recognized. 

“Alec! Izzy said you were hurt. Thank the angel you’re okay,” Jace said, rushing to hug his parabatai so hard he nearly knocked Alec over.

“I could say the same about you,” Alec muttered, returning the hug stiffly as though in shock. “You’re alive. But our rune …”

“What about it?” Jace asked.

Alec pulled back and lifted the hem of his shirt, not surprised to see his parabatai rune had returned since he could already feel Jace back in his soul.

“It disappeared,” Alec said.

“Looks fine to me,” Jace smiled but even from a few feet away Magnus could see the deflection in his gaze.

Alec nodded. He sensed the same as Magnus but had no urge to argue at the moment. He stepped forward and hugged Jace again, this time tighter. 

“Yeah. Yeah it’s fine. You’re alive,” Alec sighed and closed his eyes, basking in the feeling of being surrounded by the brother he had thought was dead. 

Clary and Isabelle appeared from the woods next but stayed a step back to allow the parabatai their moment.

“Valentine?” Magnus asked them.

Clary clenched her jaw and answered tightly. “He won’t be back.”

Alec released Jace and sighed in relief. “Then it’s over.”

Jace nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it’s over. We won. Everything’s okay.”

Magnus wrapped his arms around himself and shivered, remembering the Angel’s words. 

He worried Jace was very wrong.

~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~

A few hours later Magnus had his arms wrapped around something else entirely as he held on to Alec and refused to let go, never breaking apart from their kiss even as they stumbled through the apartment and towards the bedroom.

“God I missed you,” Alec mumbled when they finally separated to breathe. Magnus took the opportunity to push Alec back until his knees hit the mattress and when he fell into a sitting position Magnus moved to straddle his lap. 

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” Magnus said, slowing down to cherish the moment as he ran a hand over Alec’s cheek.

“Me neither. Magnus I’m so sorry, I never should have lied to you …”

“Shhh,” Magnus moved a thumb over his lips. “It’s in the past. We both made mistakes.”

“Like a Shadowhunter-killing ward around the city?” Alec said, raising one eyebrow.

Magnus looked away. “Yes, like that. I’m sorry.”

But Alec shook his head and kissed him hard. He left a hand in Magnus’s hair, guiding him to meet his eye so Magnus could see the love and sincerity in his gaze as he spoke. “Like you said, we both made mistakes. We’ll do better. I’ll do better, I promise. No more lies.”

Magnus’s gaze drifted away and he nodded stiffly. 

“No more lies,” he agreed softly. Alec leaned forward to kiss him again but Magnus put a hand on his chest to stop him.

“What’s wrong?” Alec asked.

Magnus swallowed and tried to breathe. “I … I have to tell you something.”

“Oh … I didn’t mean it had to be right now,” Alec said, shrugging one shoulder. All he wanted right now to kiss Magnus again, to be with him. He ran a hand up his arm to relax him, but frowned when he felt his boyfriend shaking lightly. 

“It’s important,” Magnus said. “It’s … it’s about what happened at Lake Lyn while you were unconscious.”

Alec’s brow furrowed. “You didn’t try to wake me up by kissing me again did you?”

Magnus huffed out a shaky laugh. “No, not this time. This time I … I couldn’t even do that much, I couldn’t do anything to help you.”

“Hey, I’m okay,” Alec said, wrapping his arms around Magnus’s back to pull him closer and let him feel he was alive. “We’re both okay, that’s all that matters.”

Magnus shook his head. “I need to tell you, please, it’s important.”

“All right.” Alec leaned back, giving Magnus his full attention. “If you need to tell me I’m listening.”

Magnus opened his mouth then hesitated, not able to force the words out yet, not able to admit to the impossible events that had happened.

“I … I need to ask you something first,” Magnus said eventually, rushing to say more when he saw Alec’s skeptical eyebrow raise. “I’ll tell you, I swear I will but I … I need to know I’m not crazy first.”

“Okay,” Alec said. “What do you need to know?”

“Earlier tonight your parabatai rune faded. What do you think happened to it?”

Alec’s breathing intensified instantly at the memory and he looked away. “I already told you, Magnus. Jace died.”

“Are you sure though? He said that he didn’t. The presence of the Angel that Valentine called, it could have done something, severed the bond temporarily somehow.”

But Alec closed his eyes as Magnus spoke.

“I didn’t just feel the bond break Magnus, I felt Jace die,” Alec said, his fingers digging into Magnus’s arms almost painfully as he continued. “I felt his pain and his fear and his regrets and his love and a thousand other emotions and then I felt it all fade away and then he was gone. I know he died. I felt it happen.”

Magnus moved a hand around Alec’s neck and brought their foreheads together. “I’m sorry. That must have been terrible, I should never have asked …”

“It’s okay,” Alec said, shaking the memory off. “He’s alive now, that’s all that matters.”

“Of course,” Magnus said. “And what happened to you? At Lake Lyn when you collapsed.”

Alec actually smiled. “It felt like Jace. I could feel him coming back but then I … I guess I blacked out. I almost passed out when the bond severed, having it reconnect again so quickly must have been too much too fast.” 

Magnus nodded; it was a perfectly logical explanation, but then he licked his lips and straightened up. “So if Jace really did die, how do you think he came back?”

“I’ve got three theories, but nothing I can verify unless Jace and Clary decide to tell us,” Alec said.

Magnus’s eyes went wide and he spread his arms out. “I’d love to hear them.”

“The first is that Jace’s pure angel blood allowed him to come back to life somehow. We know he can activate runes without a stele, who knows what else he can do? If it’s concentrated enough maybe it could resurrect him from death,” Alec said, his voice coming off almost clinical, like a soldier delivering a report. 

“It’s a possibility I suppose,” Magnus said. “There’s so little information about the effects of angel blood it’s hard to know for sure. What about the second theory?”

Alec shrugged. “Similar to the first. Clary has pure angel blood too, she could have brought him back. She’s created new runes before, powerful ones. It’s not impossible that she made a resurrection rune or something.”

“That would certainly be quite the rune,” Magnus muttered, ruminating over these possibilities. “And the third theory.”

The room was still for a moment. When Alec finally spoke it was so softly Magnus almost missed it.

“I think Clary used the Wish.”

Magnus went still as well. “Could she have really done that?”

“She had the Mortal Instruments, we already know the Angel was called. And it explains why they won’t tell us what really happened; using the Wish is punishable by death. It makes the most sense,” Alec said, his voice still flat and clinical.

“You seem oddly okay with the idea,” Magnus pointed out.

Alec dropped his gaze. “I would do the same thing.”

Magnus smiled. “You’re a good man Alexander.”

Alec’s jaw flinched. The Wish meant to save the world someday could be gone but he didn’t care because he got his parabatai back. He didn’t feel good, he felt selfish. 

“Why do you need to know all this?”

“What I have to tell you, I … I needed to know I wasn’t completely insane, that what happened was even possible. That …” I saw an Angel, he thought then dropped his head and sighed. “God, it’s still going to sound crazy.”

“Magnus look at me.” Alec took Magnus’s hand and squeezed it, then smiled when Magnus finally looked up and met his eyes. “I believe you.”

Magnus shook his head. “I haven’t even told you what happened yet.”

“I know, but whatever it is, I believe you,” Alec repeated, fiercer this time. “No matter what.”

Magnus felt his heart flutter, overwhelmed to be so trusted, to be believed in so completely.

“I saw the Angel,” he whispered, never looking away from Alec’s gaze.

“What? Like, in the sky?”

“No, I … I saw the Angel, in front of me. He came while you were unconscious. I spoke to him.”

The last thing he expected was for Alec to inhale sharply and his eyes to widen with joy.

“Magnus that’s amazing. I wouldn’t even think that was possible, you’re a downworlder, you’re … you’re probably the first downworlder to ever even see an Angel,” Alec said. His face broke out in a smile and he brought up both hands to cup the warlock’s face. “You’re incredible.”

Magnus smiled in return but it never reached his eyes. His fingers came up to clutch at Alec’s and he shook his head softly. “I appreciate the praise Alexander, but he wasn’t there for me.”

“What was he there for?”

“You.”

“Me? What would the Angel want with me, I was unconscious.”

“No, you weren’t,” Magnus whispered and a haunted look returned to his eyes. “You weren’t unconscious Alec, you were dying. You were dying and there was nothing I could do to help you.”

Alec’s brow furrowed. “I was? I don’t … what happened?”

“According to the Angel your third theory was the correct one. Jace did die and Clary used the Wish to make the Angel bring him back to life. But when he brought Jace back you felt the Angel’s power through your parabatai bond. You were flooded with pure angelic energy. He … he said it was more than any mortal or even Nephilim could endure. You were glowing and your skin was boiling hot and you couldn’t breathe and … and my magic couldn’t do a damn thing against it. It was going to kill you. The Angel said he was there to fix it.”

A soft sigh of disbelief escaped Alec’s lips. 

“Wow, the Angel saved my life. I hope you thanked him.”

“I didn’t. I’m … I’m not certain I should,” Magnus said and Alec could feel him shaking once more. He looked up and saw a storm of fear and anger swirling in Magnus’s eyes.

“Why?”

“He did something to you and you seemed better, you seem better but he also … he said there was something inside you he didn’t fix. He wouldn’t tell me what it was he just … disappeared. I have no idea what he did Alec. He said you wouldn’t die today but what if he meant that literally? That today was all you had? What if what he fixed was only temporary?” Magnus asked in a broken rush, his fingers grabbing desperately at Alec’s shirt as if that could keep him here forever. “I just … I’m terrified that there’s still something wrong with you. That something inside is still broken and there’ll be nothing we can do if it comes back.” 

Alec swallowed and slowly brought a hand up to squeeze Magnus’s fingers. 

“Okay.”

Magnus blinked tears away that had come at the thought of Alec collapsing again in front of him with no Angel there to save him.

“Okay?”

“Yeah. I believe you and we’ll figure this out. Together,” Alec promised.

Magnus waved a hand helplessly.

“I don’t know anything about angelic magic. When you were dying from it I could barely even touch you. I wouldn’t know how to recognize a problem, I don’t know if I could even sense one,” Magnus said.

Alec smiled, “Well luckily I have an Institute full of experts at my disposal. If you think something might be wrong I’ll call Izzy and have her check me out.”

“You’d do that?”

“I’ll do it right now,” Alec said.

Magnus deflated with relief and nodded. “Thank you.”

Alec brought a hand up to cup Magnus’s cheek and smiled reassuringly. “We’ll figure this out. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.” Magnus leaned forward and kissed him longer than he needed to, holding on to the moment as long as possible before finally pulling away and standing up so he was no longer straddling Alec’s lap.

“I’ll call Izzy,” Alec said. He reached for his phone on the nightstand and raised a flirtatious eyebrow before he dialled. “This still probably could have waited until after sex though.”

Magnus huffed but smiled. “My apologies for prioritizing your actual life over your sex life.”

“You can make it up to me,” Alec said, but turned his attention to his phone before Magnus could respond. “Hey Iz, I’m sorry but I need you to meet us at the Institute … yeah, it’s important.”

~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~

An hour later the lab in the Institute infirmary had exactly three occupants, everyone else having taken the night off to celebrate the defeat of Valentine and the Circle.

As Isabelle put a vial of Alec’s blood into a scanner and hit start, a labcoat over her party clothes and curled hair now tied up in a bun, Magnus couldn’t help but feel a little bit guilty.

“Again, we’re sorry to pull you away from the festivities,” Magnus said for the second or third time but Isabelle brushed him off.

“I partied more than my share, don’t worry. Besides, you’re right, after Lake Lyn Alec and Jace both need complete physicals. Especially since we really have no idea what happened out there. Better safe than sorry,” Isabelle said, not looking up as she typed commands into the equipment.

“Still, we appreciate it Iz, thanks.” 

Alec smiled from where he sat upright on one of the hospital beds and took Magnus’s hand reassuringly. It took some effort but Magnus forced his shoulders to relax while they waited for the results.

“It’s no problem at all,” Isabelle said, “especially with this new equipment from Alicante. Oh! Already done. Now let’s see … whoa.”

“What whoa? Why did you whoa?” Magnus demanded and tried to stalk over to the computer screen but was held back by Alec’s fingers tightening around his. He looked up and found Alec’s reassuring smile had disappeared to be replaced with barely restrained fear. 

“What is it Iz?” Alec asked quietly, keeping his grip tight on Magnus but not moving from the bed.

“This is incredible, I’ve never seen readings like this. It doesn’t make any sense, it looks like …” Izzy paused to look over the data for another moment then continued, “like every empty space in your body was filled with angelic energy, but it’s so strange your angel-blood levels are still the same, so where did all this extra energy come from?”

“Is it dangerous?” Magnus asked, looking at Alec even as he talked to Izzy. “Can it hurt him?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Izzy said, loud and enthusiastic. “It’s weird it’s like … it’s like the energy is incredibly high but perfectly balanced with your body. See, this is a cellular analysis, the extra energy is perfectly stable almost like … like it’s bonded to you somehow.”

“What does that mean? What will it do to me?” Alec asked.

“I’m pretty sure it will make your runes heavy duty powerful, but other than that nothing really. Wait, have you activated any runes since this happened?” Isabelle asked.

“No.”

Izzy’s eyes went wide with excitement. She rushed over to them, hauling out her stele. “Here, activate one now, let’s see what happens. Try your healing rune.”

“I’m not hurt but … fine,” Alec said, taking the stele but hesitating to run it over his iratze. It wasn’t until Magnus offered him an encouraging smile that he finally lit up the rune. He gasped in shock and gripped the edge of the bed as the iratze glowed a bright golden, brighter than any rune had before.

“Alec, what’s wrong?” Magnus asked, steadying him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Nothing,” Alec gasped, eyes wide.

“Alec tell us!” Izzy demanded, getting in his face but Alec shook his head.

“Seriously, there’s nothing wrong, I … I feel amazing! I’ve never felt this good in my entire life. Everything feels like … I don’t know like peak condition maybe. It’s weird. Good but weird,” he said, struggling to put into words the sensation of every tiny imperfection in his body suddenly correcting itself. 

“Wait.” Izzy grabbed his chin and turned him to look at her. The closer she brought her face to Alec’s the wider her eyes got in amazement. “By the Angel.”

“What?” Alec asked. 

But Magnus was leaned forward now too and he quickly saw what Isabelle had spotted.

“Oh my god.”

“What!” Alec demanded, looking between the two of them exasperated.

“Alexander … your scar.”

“It’s gone,” Izzy finished for him. 

“What? It can’t be …” Alec started but Izzy held her phone up to his face with the selfie camera on. He took it from her and brought the camera closer while his free hand moved to the edge of his eyebrow. He had gotten the scar five years ago, the result of a venom-tipped demon claw slicing across his face. Iratzes and a blood transfusion had saved his life but the venom had burned in so deep that even after healing runes he had been left with the scar above his eye. Until now. 

The once puckered skin was smooth again, like it had never happened at all. 

“It was always too deep to heal. Iz … how?”

“I don’t know. It shouldn’t be possible,” Isabelle admitted but then got a far off look on her face. “Wait.”

She ran to her workstation and rifled through her materials until she found a small plastic tube. When she came back over Alec saw it was a cotton swab. She pushed the end out of the tube and grabbed his chin again without pause. 

“Open,” she said.

He tried to protest her rough treatment but when he opened his mouth to speak she shoved the stick inside and swabbed his cheek then raced back to her workstation.

“I’m not a science experiment,” Alec grumbled quietly to her back.

Magnus squeezed his hand to draw his attention. “Come on, you’ve had worse things in your mouth.”

Alec’s eyes went wide and he looked back at Izzy, panicked she had heard the terribly suggestive comment, but Isabelle was too enthralled with mixing some chemicals into a centrifuge to notice what they were saying. Alec sighed in relief then glared at Magnus.

“I can’t take you anywhere,” Alec whispered.

“That’s why I take you everywhere,” Magnus said, then stepped forward and ran his thumb below the now healed eyebrow. “Incredible.”

Alec touched it as well, unnerved to feel smooth skin where he had become so accustomed to it being rough. 

“This is weird,” Alec said.

“I would expect nothing less dealing with an Angel. Working in mysterious ways is their raison d’etre from what I understand,” Magnus said.

“You’re not freaked out?”

“I talked to an Angel a few hours ago, Alexander. I’m sorry but a scar being healed by an iratze is a tad underwhelming in comparison.”

Alec laughed lightly, some tension leaving his shoulders as Magnus put the situation in a perspective. “I guess.”

“Oh my god!”

They both turned at Izzy’s shout from across the room and saw her staring at her computer screen again, mouth agape. 

“Iz, what is it?” Alec asked. Sick of being stuck on the exam bed he got up and joined her at her workstation, Magnus half a step behind him.

On the screen he saw what looked like two similar DNA sequences that were being compared but other than that he couldn’t understand much of the data that Izzy was almost hyperventilating over.

“Complete DNA repair!” Isabelle exclaimed, almost shouting as she pointed at the screen excitedly. 

Magnus and Alec shared a blank look.

“Okay. What does that mean exactly?” Alec asked.

Izzy looked like she was barely restraining herself from rolling her eyes but shook her head as she thought over the question.

“It’s … it’s like … okay, so what our iratzes normally do is heal us by rapidly replicating cells so we can regenerate skin, organs and blood quickly. That’s why iratzes don’t help when we’re sick, they just replicate cells they don’t fight diseases or change our bodies.”

“I’m following so far,” Magnus said.

“So that’s what normally happens. Now this is Alec’s DNA before he activated his iratze and his DNA after he activated it. Just look, here, here and here,” Izzy pointed at small breaks in the DNA on the first screen, “this is your DNA damage. Everyone has this, it just happens over time, our DNA will just start replicating wrong eventually like a game of telephone. It just breaks down. But now look here at the sample I just took, ALL your DNA damage is gone Alec! Your iratze is so powerful it healed you at the genetic level. That’s why your scar healed. Do you know what this means?!”

Alec shrugged. He didn’t. 

“I’ll never scar again?” he guessed.

Izzy laughed and shook her head.

“Alec, you won’t age.”

Alec and Magnus both inhaled sharply.

“What?” Alec asked softly.

Isabelle smiled. “DNA damage is the reason people age, it’s why parts of our body eventually shut down. With your angelic energy levels this high though every time you use your iratze you will essentially remove all DNA damage and heal yourself back into peak physical condition.”

Alec felt like he was falling despite standing perfectly still. Seeming to sense this Magnus put a hand on his arm to steady him. Alec took a deep breath and forced his jaw to work.

“How … how long will that happen?”

Izzy shrugged apologetically. “I can’t say for sure. Maybe indefinitely if your angelic energy levels stay this high. If they drop over time from use it may wear off eventually, but at the absolute minimum I’d say you could live for … several hundred years at least.”

“Several hundred …” Alec trailed off as his knees got weak. Magnus pulled on his arm to keep him standing and steered him around.

“All right, back to bed,” Magnus said, trying to sound calm even though he was freaking out inside and wouldn’t mind sitting down as well.

With Izzy’s help he managed to ease Alec back down onto the medical bed. Alec let himself be led, seemingly uncaring as his gaze remained unfixed and far off as he took in what Izzy was saying.

“Several hundred years,” he mumbled again, overwhelmed. Magnus took his hand and squeezed it then brought his other hand up to cup Alec’s cheek, forcing his shadowhunter to look at him.

“It’s all right Alec, just breathe,” Magnus said.

Alec did as suggested and squeezed Magnus’s hand back hard. 

“This is what the Angel didn’t fix,” Alec whispered.

“I think you’re right. It makes sense, as he left he … he told us to have a wonderful life together,” Magnus said, only now realizing he had meant they would have a much longer life together.

“So do … do you think you could put up with me for a few hundred extra years?” Alec asked, his voice shaky.

Magnus smiled and felt tears of joy prick at his eyes. “I can free up my calendar.”

“Thanks,” Alec laughed and looked away but Magnus moved him to look at him again, his expression serious. 

“I will cherish every extra moment that the Angel will grant us, Alexander. Every one.”

A tear slipped down Alec’s cheek. He nodded but he couldn’t speak, not yet. He felt a burden lift so fully off his chest that he didn’t know how to breathe without it. He was going to live for a long, long time. Magnus wasn’t going to have to take care of him. Magnus wouldn’t have to watch him age. Magnus may not even need to ever bury him. He could live a life with Magnus while never being a burden to him, and possibly without causing him a single moment of grief, a single moment of pain or loss. It was real, and it was with the blessing of the Angels. It was more than he had ever hoped to dream for.

“I love you,” Alec said, pulling Magnus close until their foreheads leaned against each other. “I’ll always love you. I don’t know how long that will be now, but I will.”

“I love you too, and I love having all the time in the world to show you just how much,” Magnus said.

“What do we do now?” Alec asked.

Magnus lifted his chin and kissed him slowly, inhaling and savoring each touch of their skin.

He pulled away and smiled. 

“Let’s go home.”

The End

**Author's Note:**

> And then they lived happily ever ever ever after! I always like the idea of immortal Alec but I REALLY like those rare times it happens through angelic means. I just love the idea of angel-sanctioned immortality, it means they’ll never get petty and take it away, so this is my spin on it. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
